Classic Photos |
 |
| TITLE |
+ |
- |
| FILE NAME |
+ |
- |
| DATE |
+ |
- |
|
|
250 views
|
|
249 views
|
|
Gagne Entrance-2087 views
|
|
224 views
|
|
Mrs. McCourt having a "little quiet time"-376 views
|
|
394 views
|
|
Dodger Blue or Think Blue-474 views
|
|
2338 views
|
|
212 views
|
|
971 views
|
|
2544 views"I am the Greatest"
|
|
437 viewsThey're on to something. You can see it in their faces, all flush with confidence and vindication. You can see it in their step. There's a jump to it now.
Yeah, the Bucs are on to something, all right. Or are they? No one will really know for sure until today. Even Bucs coach Raheem Morris admits as much.
"If you really want to know how you're playing on defense, you go play the Saints," Morris said of the league's top-ranked offense. "These guys will let you know pretty quick where you are and what you are."
What the Bucs are is on a roll on defense. Since Morris took over for Jim Bates as defensive coordinator in the wake of the Bucs' 38-7 loss to the Saints on Nov. 22, the defense has surged.
A unit that previously surrendered 378 yards and 29 points per game has allowed an average of 324 yards and 17.5 points since the change, but there are those who wonder if that unit has truly been tested.
It's a valid question. After all, none of the teams the Bucs have stopped so convincingly the past four weeks have winning records. And three - Atlanta, Carolina and the New York Jets - played backup quarterbacks.
That's why today's rematch with the 13-1 Saints, who lead the league in points scored and are fighting for the top seed in the NFC playoffs, is being hailed as the truest test yet of Morris' defense.
And make no mistake, this is Morris' defense. He has taken some of the principles that made Monte Kiffin's old Tampa 2 work so well and tweaked them with ideas of his own to make it truly unique.
More than just a one-gap, Cover 2 scheme, Morris has developed something of a hybrid that utilizes a variety of blitzes, fronts and looks. Rivals have taken note of the changes.
"You can see the schematic differences right off the bat on film, with all the pressure looks they're giving and the multitude of looks they're showing," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "And they're clearly playing better and with more confidence right now. You can see that on tape, particularly with all the turnovers they've had. They're definitely an improved team defensively."
The improvement is dramatic.
In the 10 games the Bucs played under Bates, they had 17 sacks and 16 takeaways. In the four games they've played with Morris calling the defense, they have nine sacks and nine takeaways.
And the points-allowed differential is dramatic, too. A team that ranked 31st in the league in points allowed now ranks seventh in the past four games.
"The reason for that is we're playing a lot faster now," linebacker Quincy Black said. "And that's because we're back to doing what we did in the past, which is playing with speed - speed and confidence."
And swagger. That's slowly starting to creep its way back into the Bucs' game, too. It's not there yet, but you can sense it, especially when the Bucs talk of the challenge that awaits today.
The same players who previously spoke with a sense of caution about facing the Saints are suddenly eager to see how they measure up against the league's most potent offense.
"I'm personally very excited about this game because we're going at them with a completely different defense, and I'm very anxious to see how we fare against them," defensive end Stylez G. White said.
"It's going to be a completely different type of game this time," linebacker Barrett Ruud said. "I mean, we'll be coming at them with a little bit different comfort level this time."
That comfort level is really the key to the defensive surge. To a man, the Bucs say they were flat-out uncomfortable playing Bates' two-gap, read-and-react scheme, which some termed as archaic.
"The old defense was outdated and didn't work," defensive tackle Chris Hovan said. "This defense that we're playing now is physical, it's violent and it's fast. It's what this city was raised on. It's the old Tampa 2, and when we've played this defense against (the Saints) in the past, we've been successful against them. That's not to say we're going to be successful this time, but we are confident running this defense.
"And we're getting our swagger back with this defense. You can see it in the way we practice and in the way we take the field. And now we're going to go out there and find out just how good we really are."
|
|
| 520 pictures on 44 page(s) |
|
1 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
